衝突 Collision
by Ven Ceinza
Summary: Full summary in-story. Pairings TBA. Rated for language. Ike has been invited back to the Smash Manor for the Collision tournament and everything has changed. His friends, the rules, everything is different; More games of Predator and Prey.
1. Break

衝突  
Collision

Story by Ven Ceinza.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or any of their characters. (Which are awesome.)

In-story summary: Ike, the Hero of Tellius, has been cordially re-invited to the Smash Manor after his last tournament there. Pleased to be re-untied with his friends- Fox, Pit, and Link –Ike accepts the offer to return. During his previous stay, he met everyone there was to meet—or so he thought. This time, they are _all_ there. The Smashers that were only invited to the first Melee were asked to come back to show the newbies how this game was played _before_ the wussies took over.

_Well hello there! Welcome to Collision- A Super Smash Brothers Collision story. I heard about SSBC from the Fantendo wiki under Super Smash Brothers. I don't know if it'll ever be real or not, but the cast of characters that will be in this story are based off of SSBC, which, if it comes out, will be epic. I hope you like this story. I need a break from writing mushy romance stuff and get into some more violent, friendship related stories. Pairings in this story will show up soon enough, but I'm not sure. I doubt more than one or two will be yaoi. I want to be daring and write something straighties about SSB. (Since MarthxIke, MarthxRoy, Ike/MarthxLink are excruciatingly popular, perhaps I'll throw one of those pairings in. But I'm a huge ZeldaxLink fangirl. It's how the story's meant to be! Didn't anyone play Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, or Spirit Tracks? And think about it; Why the hell would Link always go after saving this helpless princess unless he really loved her?)_

_Let the reading commence! _

_Reviews would be appreciated..._

* * *

ブレーク  
(Break)

The blue-haired mercenary stood in front of the palatial manor just like he had a bit over a year ago, as that was how long it had been since the last Smash Tournament. Before he rested his hand on the identification censor, he wondered if he really had been invited back. After his little tiff with Pit and some bombs, he thought they would never let him back.

_I swear_, he thought, _if I__'__m getting Punk__'__d, someone is going to die._

He groaned and rested his hand on the censor. As the weird cold censor identified him as Lord Ike- much to his displeasure –the large set of white double doors opened slowly, leaving Ike to get more and more anxious with each passing second.

When the door finally opened all the way, Ike walked in casually, not pretending he owned the place or anything, but he was comfortable. His eyes grazed over the ceilings that were four times higher than he was, the pearly white walls that contrasted black tile flooring, and a gray-brick fireplace surrounded by gray couches. The atmosphere was so familiar to him, that he got a little _too_ comfortable.

He was walking up to the roster and room assignments when he felt an entire body jump onto his back. He screamed, took their hands off his shoulders, and threw them over his head, onto the ground in front of him.

"Nice to see you too," a brunette angel muttered, wrenching his wrists from Ike's grip.

Ike blinked, breaking into a childish smile. He held out his hand for his old friend to take. "Sorry, Pit," he apologized. Pit took his hand and pulled himself onto his feet. He appeared to have gotten taller over the past year—his eyes were at Ike's shoulder level. "Did you grow?"

Pit removed his hand from Ike's grip gently and grinned. "About half a foot," he said.

"Holy hell, where have I been," Ike whistled at the growth spurt. Then he remembered, _Oh yeah__—__desert. _He then nodded toward the roster and room assignments, asking Pit to look with him. Pit nodded agreeably and followed.

The room assignments were set up differently from last year. There were different colors and symbols and names he did not recognize. "What the hell is a Jigglypuff?" Ike asked his friend.

Pit laughed, patting Ike's shoulder. "Insolent boy, you will see soon enough."

"Right," Ike nodded awkwardly. "Can you tell me what all these colors n' stuff mean? I'm completely lost right now."

Pit stood next to the large poster-sized list. He pointed to each column as he explained its significance. "This first column has Affinities in it. There are nine: earth, wind, water, fire, heaven, light, dark, alter, and Pokemon."

"Pokemon are affinities now? I thought they were just other creatures," Ike snorted. "Master Hand is something else."

"Well, he set it up so that everyone is around people that have similar strengths and weaknesses."

"Why would he do that? That's the opposite of what you want," Ike's eyebrows raised up confusedly.

"I believe what he wanted was for everyone to be staying with people they can get along with. Similar affinities do tend to lead to similar personalities," Pit explained dazedly, like his thoughts were continuing and he just did not feel like finishing saying them. "Anyway," he restarted. "Second column is which affinity is recommended for you to practice Smashing with. Third column is where your quarters are located. Fourth column are the Smashers of that affinity." Pit finished with an epic breath. "Make sense?" he checked up on his cutely clueless friend.

Pit thought everything was either cute, adorable, both, or neither. During the last tournament his fighting looked a bit more like dancing. He was strong, but so kid-like that all his fights turned out looking just like dancing. Ike now noticed that Pit was starting to be more like a man than a boy. This growth spurt plus speaking more maturely made him think that maybe Pit was actually starting to age.

They were supposedly about the same age, Ike a year or so older, but before now no one would have been able to tell. Pit's face had lost its baby fat and had replaced it with an older look.

Ike stared at Pit blankly for a few more seconds.

"Ike?" Pit waved his hand in front of Ike's face.

No response.

"Ike!" a voice boomed from seemingly nowhere.

Ike snapped back into focus. His eyes went wide. He knew that voice. He knew that voice well. He was genuinely _afraid_ of the owner of that voice. That voice belonged to the most independent, strong, violent, and scary-to-fight woman in the universe or any other. He turned around to see Samus approaching him in her Zero Suit.

"Samus," he said, hanging his head and shaking it, a little embarrassed. He never talked to her much, but when they did, it was always something interesting that was noteworthy.

"Long time no see, _hero_," she mocked his title openly, smirking as she stopped a couple feet away from him. "How were your travels?"

Ike shrugged modestly, looking up at her. "It was nothing too fascinating. I found it a bit dull, really. How was Metroid?"

"Wonderful," she said with a wink. "Things are getting more and more exciting. Also," she tilted her head as she spoke. "I was somehow voted as one of the top ten sexiest heroines in my universe."

Ike ogled her up and down, briefly so he did not earn himself a smack across the face when he paused at her chest. He had to admit, that Zero Suit looked fantastic on her. "Can't blame them," he admitted.

Samus glowered when she caught him staring and swiftly sucker-punched him to the stomach. Ike doubled over in pain. _So beautiful,_ he thought, _yet so, so cruel. _She ruffled the hair on the top of his head. "Beauty is pain, my friend," she advised.

Pit grinned. "You're so nice to give Ike such a warm welcome," he said.

"Anytime!" she said, beaming. "So my _Lord Ike_, what affinity has Master Hand classed you as?" she asked, pulling on him to force him to standing straight up.

He groaned in pain. Samus rolled her eyes and pushed past him to look at the assignments. "Let's see…" she drawled. She glanced over her shoulder and tried to figure it out by sight. She had been practicing predicting someone's affinity based on their appearance. So far, she had yet to be wrong. "I'm pretty sure you're not a Pokemon," she observed. "You _definitely _aren't darkness or heaven, or water." She turned her back to Ike again and looked at the list of affinities, not who was what. "I'm going to say you're earth," she concluded, taking a couple steps back from the poster.

Ike quietly scanned over the list. Column One: earth. Column Two: fire. Column Three: earth-wind hall. Column Four: Link, Snake, Ike. He turned around and looked at Samus, with her long blonde hair pulled back and her eyes smiling more than her lips.

"Lucky guess," he said, keeping himself from laughing.

Samus gaped. Pit raised an eyebrow and watched as Samus put Ike in a swift, tight headlock. "You wanna take that back before I break your neck, boy?"

Pit laughed. Ike started laughing, but then it turned into choking on the breath he could not catch. He shook his head, allowing Samus to tighten the hold. Like he minded at all? Samus was a total babe. She had an amazing body, was nothing short of brilliant, and one of the fiercest competitors ever to step in the Smash Manor. Everyone knew it, even Ike.

"Samus!" a vocal sound that was undoubtedly Peach yelled from the other side of the room. She crossed it immediately. "Release Sir Ike from the headlock this instant!"

Samus groaned. _Great; play time__s__ over._ She let Ike go. He stood up straight and rubbed his neck. _Ouch_, he thought awkwardly. _That kind of hurt._

Peach strutted over on her high-horse, acting superior to everyone with her pacifistic ways. "We cannot be bad influences on the rookies," she stated. Who was she fooling?

"Not yet, anyway," Princess Zelda said as she entered the large main room. She walked over to Ike, Samus, Peach, and Pit.

The only way Ike ever thought to describe Zelda was like a female version of Link. She was strong, quick, great in a fight, and generally rather quiet. Last time Ike was at the Manor, whenever he was feeling lucky, he would go play cards with her. She was one of the best poker players he ever met.

Ike respectfully bowed his head to the Hylian princess. She patted his head. "Rise, Ike. You owe me no formalities." This was possibly her way of saying, _oh; you__'__re a Lord, too. You don__'__t have to bow to me. It makes me feel weird._

It did make her feel weird, but being bowed to by a hero of an alternate universe also made her feel far more royal. She giggled as Ike straightened. "You look lovely as ever, Princess," he said.

Zelda giggled some more. Peach struck a conversation with Pit and Samus, leaving the two to talk. "Flattery will only get you so far, Ike."

He thought about that for a second then decided to never compliment anyone else ever again. As if he wanted to be any more lordly than people were already making him out to be? No thank you.

"I must ask," she began, taking a few steps closer to the man that was still a mercenary in his own eyes, no matter what anyone else saw. What Zelda saw was someone with power, physical and political. "Your explorations in the desert went well last year, yes?"

Ike nodded, smiling. "They were a little boring, but at the same time it was great to get away from everything."

"And your status, within that country… What is it called? I believe you called it Crimea?" Zelda carefully asked about his rank, trying not to be forward. Ike nodded. "Do you still keep in touch with that queen you mentioned?"

Ike nodded again. "She's a close friend of mine. I don't know why I wouldn't…"

"Well, keep me updated on your political affairs. You know if you ever need someone with influence, I still owe you," she said. She smiled softly.

"Owe me? For what?" he asked, oblivious to events that happened last year.

She patted his head as if he were a little boy. He pouted and grumbled. "Sometimes you are so silly, Ike." Those were the last words she said before a voice that Ike faintly remembered came over the intercom.

_All Smashers report to the stadium immediately. _It was repeated once then the intercom shut off.

"Hmm…" Pit looked up, like the person talking had been standing above him. He cut through Peach and Samus and grabbed Ike's shoulder. Samus followed him. The two princesses raised their eyebrows as Pit dragged a startled Ike away with Samus' help. "We'll catch up with you guys at the stadium. Ike needs to be _escorted_ there like the Lord he is."

Samus wrapped her arm around Ike's shoulder so he could not stop walking when he tried. He was busy being freaked out by the fact they were dragging him away. "No! Let me go! I can walk! I'm not five!" Ike unsuccessfully screamed for help.

Samus growled angrily and punched him square in the stomach again. He yelped, doubling over once more. Samus picked him up bridal-style, which was weird since she was the girl. He groaned as Samus carried him away. Pit grinned. Samus grinned back. The two of them got their pain-filled friend to the stadium… Eventually.


	2. Stadium

衝突  
Collision

Story by Ven Ceinza.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or any of their characters. (Which are awesome.)

In-story summary: Ike, the Hero of Tellius, has been cordially re-invited to the Smash Manor after his last tournament there. Pleased to be re-untied with his friends- Fox, Pit, and Link –Ike accepts the offer to return. During his previous stay, he met everyone there was to meet—or so he thought. This time, they are _all_ there. The Smashers that were only invited to the first Melee were asked to come back to show the newbies how this game was played _before_ the wussies took over.

_A certain me is bringing you chapter two! I'm taking a break from some of my other stories. I'm so sick of writing love stories right now. I just want to write something I can enjoy that shows off my personal writing style and what's going through my head. I hope you, or anyone in general, likes this story. I'm not the best writer, but I figure that neither is anyone else. We're all good at something! So, keep reading! Pairings possibly being exposed soon?_

_Reviews=Love._

* * *

スタジアム  
(Stadium)

Ike finally regained consciousness by the time Samus sat him down in the second row of seats in the stadium. The arena was circular, and the seats were only around it in a semicircle. Most of the seats were empty, but the bottom two rows were nearly full. Ike looked around, recognizing most of the faces. He kicked his feet on the back of the seat in front of him. Directly below him, in front of him, was a head of startlingly red hair. The body it belonged to was wearing blue armor. Next to that guy was one with blue hair, wearing all blue. Ike recalled that this was Marth, who he roomed with last time he was here.

As Master Hand descended to the stage, Ike could not help but stare at Marth and think. He remembered spending afternoons training with the Altean prince, fighting their hearts out, but at the same time having a lot of fun. He thought that over that period of time while they were at the Smash Manor together, Ike thought he got reasonably close to the prince, considering that he never talked to many people and Ike was one of the more sociable guys there. To have two people, practical opposites, becoming friends would have been so pathetically cliché, it would have made perfect sense.

Because that's how these stories are supposed to go, isn't it?

"Ike," someone whispered, flicking the back of his head.

He shivered and turned around angrily. "Which one of you little fuc—"he cut himself off. Fox and Falco were sitting there looking suspicious.

Fox smiled sneakily. Falco was rubbing his forehead with one of his wings. "Really, Fox? You would."

Fox waggled his eyebrows. "Of course, my feathery friend; you know I had to do it. Ike, how've you been, man?"

Ike held out his fist and Fox pounded it. "Living life every day, just trying to take things one at a time since things don't get any easier with time."

"I know what you mean," Fox says with a nod.

Falco hushed them coldly. "Shut up, will you? This could be important!"

Fox waves his hand dismissively. "Whatever, Falco; I've heard this speech twice before, I do not know why I need to hear it again."

"Personally, I already noticed that things are set up differently from last year," Ike pointed out.

Fox opened his mouth to speak again, but Falco covered it with one of his wings quickly so he could not get it out. Ike blinked. _Killjoy, _he snorted in his mind.

Samus on the left of Ike and Pit on the right whacked each of Ike's shoulders. He whined. "Oh come on guys, live a little. I heard the hand last year. How can he talk anyway? He's a giant hand!"

"Quiet!" the redhead in front of Ike turned around and glared. His eyes were a crystal blue, making him seem like the essence of fire and water put together. He had a headband on and a blue cape. The blue haired prince next to him glanced over his shoulder, looked at Ike, blushed, and looked away.

When no one said anything else, the redhead smiled contently. "Thank you," he said with a sigh, turning back around.

"If the side conversations are over," Master Hand spoke, his voice commanding everything in the room. It seemed to command more attention and respect than anyone else's words. Master hand was the symbol of mystery, magic, and leadership. Everyone at the Smash Manor had at least some form of respect for the disembodied hand. "Welcome, my fellow Smashers, rookies and veterans, to the Smash Manor. I am the Master Hand, your _big brother_ of sorts. If something is amiss, I will know. If someone is having personal problems and is no longer able to compete, I will do all in my power to assist them. If something renders someone fatally wounded, I will see to it that they make it out alive."

After an informative speech about new rules and changed guidelines and facts about the brawls, stages, training, and schedules, the lights came on, revealing that the stage was set. Master Hand flew off.

Everyone's heads turned this way and that, trying to see where he went.

"To begin this tournament, you all have an hour to reacquaint with fellow Smashers and chose a partner. A trial round of battles will begin after that hour is up."

_An hour,_ Ike thought. He blinked and rubbed his forehead. _How is that enough time to re-meet everyone and get a partner?!_ _What the eff?!_

"You are dismissed," Master Hand's voice said.

Ike, Samus, and Pit left the stadium like a trio of friends leaving a classroom in high school together. "Does Master Hand have his head up his butt? How can you get _'__reacquainted with everyone and chose a partner__'_in an hour?"

Pit shrugged. "I don't know. I talked with everyone earlier, so I'm all set," he bragged. Ike glowered. Pit smiled sheepishly. "What? I was bored. Do you want me to sit around being bored waiting for you?"

Ike lowered his head in shame. "Would be nice…" he muttered. Pit shoved him.

"Will you two kids cut it out already?" Samus glared at both of them. "Gosh you two are so ridiculously childish. I should just kill both of you during one of my matches."

Pit's eyes went wide in a puppy-like way. "Please no," he begged.

"Ike!" someone called out his name. The voice was somewhat familiar, but Ike could not put a face to it. Perhaps it was someone who rarely talked?

He turned around. A familiar red-haired boy shorter than he and a blue-haired prince that was Marth were standing there with an apparently peeved little elf boy. Was that Link? No way, he was way too young. It was probably Young Link from the first Smash Melee. Ike had not been there, but Link had told him about his young counterpart and how annoying he was.

Marth, that guy with red hair, and Young Link approached Samus, Pit, and Ike like they were all friends. Except the redhead; he gave Ike a subtle glare, while the hero raised his eyebrows like he had no clue what was going on, because he really did have no clue about what was going on.

Marth smiled at the other group. "Hello Samus, Pit. How are you?" he said politely.

Samus smiled in response. _He__'__s such a cute guy- in a boyish way like Pit_. "I am well, thanks," she answered.

Pit grinned. "As am I, Marth. Thank you. And you?"

"Very well," he said. He then turned his gaze to Ike, who was still having a competition with Roy—could his cluelessness outdo Roy's unkind looks? "Roy," Marth hissed. He elbowed his companion in the side, which caused him to cringe in pain. Young link laughed. "Ike," Marth demanded the attention of the taller man. He got it. "For these trials, I was hoping you and I could be partners."

Roy gaped. "What?!" he yelled.

Marth elbowed him again. "Quiet," he ordered. Roy complied. "So Ike, would you please be my partner? We fought well together last time."

Ike reminisced. He and Marth did make a great team. During their last fight as partners during the doubles tournament, they pulled of some amazing stunts, both of them sticking around until they had over five hundred percent on the board. Everyone had been startled at how well Marth took to Ike's company; since the prince rarely talked it came as a shock that he became friends with Ike. They had gotten quite close, compared to most of Marth's relationships.

He secretly admired and adored Ike. Whenever Ike was around, Marth felt a little bit safer. He felt more comfortable with the world and with himself. Ike was like his role model; he was put on a pedestal above most of the people that Marth knew. Even though he was painfully shy, if Ike was around, rest assured that words were going to escape Marth's lips.

Marth seemed a lot more sociable than last time so far, Ike noticed.

Ike shot back into the moment. He glanced at Samus and Pit to check their expressions. He gave Samus a look of inquiry. She gave him a shrug and looked across Ike at Pit, who nodded in acknowledgement. "Pit and I are going to be partners, so both of us are called for."

"I guess I'm your partner then," Ike told Marth, grinning.

Marth beamed back. "Great! I'll see you at the stadium in an hour, then," he said as he turned gracefully and walked off. His cape flowed behind him like a leaf in the wind. Roy glared at Ike once more then turned and chased after Marth with Young Link trailing behind.

"Well, that was interesting," Pit grumbled. Ike did not try to make a sarcastic remark. Pit and Samus' eyebrows shot up. They exchanged devious looks.

Pit stepped directly in front of the dazed mercenary, who still would not respond. "Oh I-Ike," he sang.

Ike blinked a few times. "Yes?"

Pit took the double-sided weapon he used from his back and used the blunt side of the blade to smack Ike across the face.

"Ouch!" Ike yelped. He rubbed his cheek. "What was that for?"

Samus got behind him and lifted him over her shoulder swiftly so he could not protest. He gasped.

"For being an idiot," Samus said playfully. She fireman's carried Ike to the dining hall as he placed his fists under his chin and grumbled.


	3. Preliminary

衝突  
Collision

Story by Ven Ceinza.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or any of their characters. (Which are awesome.)

In-story summary: Ike, the Hero of Tellius, has been cordially re-invited to the Smash Manor after his last tournament there. Pleased to be re-untied with his friends- Fox, Pit, and Link –Ike accepts the offer to return. During his previous stay, he met everyone there was to meet—or so he thought. This time, they are _all_ there. The Smashers that were only invited to the first Melee were asked to come back to show the newbies how this game was played _before_ the wussies took over.

_I feel a little down... Like, I know I'm not the best writer, but I feel like my writing is getting worse and worse lately. I used to do such a good job on the Ike story and I no longer find inspiration to do any of it! So I figured I should go back to writing my original fiction stories. I think this story has potential, but I don't know where it lies yet! (Which could prove to be a problem later on.) I also thank people for their constructive criticism and comments on other stories. A final thank you to anyone reading this; I promise it will get better. I'm having some trouble starting it. This is like the third exposition chapter. The plot comes in soon! YAY FOR PLOT! I'd like to say one more thing before you read on- I assumed it was called 'fanfiction' because it's fiction by the fans. I'm just so boring that I have to change things with the characterization and such. Oh yeah. Screw me and my horribleness._

_Okay, now you can read. _

_As long as you review. Actually, you don't have to, because I can't force you, but it'd be nice. _

* * *

予備  
(Preliminary)

The hour was up.

Ike uncomfortably scratched his arm as he waited to see when his partner was going to show up for the first round of preliminaries. He wondered if his partner was even going to show up or if he was off with that weird redhead that Ike had not been introduced to. He assumed his name was Roy, since that was what Marth called him. Who knew? His name could have been Bob for all Ike knew or cared; not that he did, but trying to stay on the prince's good side would require playing nice with all his little royal friends.

Now that Ike thought about it, he noticed he was friends with most-if not _all_ –of the people he ever met at the Smash Manor. He was just _that_ sexually appealing and friendly; everyone wanted a piece a' that Kit-Kat Bar.

The somewhat narcissistic Kit-Kat Bar groaned. How much longer did he have to wait? Patience was one thing, but trying to make Ike late for a fight was something unacceptable. What could anyone say? The guy loved to fight. It was in his blood. It always had been. It always would be.

As Ike stood there, mindlessly making conceited remarks and commenting on everything imaginable, Marth was snapping his fingers in front of the daft man's face.

"Ike!" he yelled. When Ike did not show any signs of taking notice, Marth glared. How were you supposed to get this guy out of a trance? He decided to try random words and possible insults. "Um… Ike, I know that you're gay, but could you please stop staring at my crotch?"

Ike gaped. "I am not gay," he said sternly. "I can assure you that I am most definitely _not_ gay."

"Okay, that's great. Now that we've got your sexuality assured, can we go to the stadium? We're going to be late!"

"Oh, so now it's _my_ fault? I've been here for at least ten minutes." Ike rose to his feet, making Marth feel small as the other practically towered over him. "Get off your high horse, Princey."

Marth flushed. He had already been knocked off by a certain lunatic, no need to rub it in his face. After destroying Marth's horse, Ike dragged the smaller man into the stadium, down to the second row, and forced him to sit in one of the seats. Ike plopped down next to the aggravated prince. He looked over at the pissy face.

Ike sighed, defeated. "I'm sorry for being a prick," he apologized, taking the Altean's hand. Marth blushed many shades of pink. As much as he got close to Ike, the guy had never gotten around to physical contact except for that one fight where they were put against each other.

_The Semi-Final round of the Brawl tournament had heat up to a thousand degrees. There was a pair of battles set to go on this time around. One was Fox versus Ganondorf. The other was Ike versus Marth. _

_During the middle of the Brawl, Ike managed to beat Marth to the Smash Ball, despite his lack of speed compared to the Falchion-wielder. He hit Marth with a blow so powerful it knocked him out of the stadium entirely._

_Guiltily and shamefully, Ike dashed off stage before his victory could be announced. He ran to Marth at top speed. Even though it was not a very fast speed, he still got to his faster than he had ever gotten anywhere. He sat down before the victim of powerful strikes._

_The collapsed boy__'__s eyes were not opened. Ike gasped. He gently shook Marth__'__s shoulder. __"__Marth__…__ Are you alright? Please say something. Please, please say something!__"__ Marth forced himself to sit up. He groaned and rubbed his forehead. Ike beamed. He wrapped his arms around the speechless prince._

_The prince glared over the mercenary__'__s shoulder and reluctantly hugged him back. __"__I hate you,__"__ he coughed. __"__You__'__re absolutely awful.__"_

"_I love you too, Princey!__"__ Ike said in the most disgustingly girly tone anyone would ever hear out of him for the rest of his life. _

"_Okay, Ike, I get the picture. You can let go of me now__…"_

"_I could have killed you!__"__ Ike exclaimed, wondering what would have happened if he had gained just slightest bit more speed; Marth would most likely be dead as opposed to writhing pain. The last person at the damn mansion that Ike would want to kill was Marth. They made great friends. They made a great team. They were like perfect friends. __"__I__'__m never letting go!__"__ Ike promised._

_Marth poked Ike firmly in the side, causing him to squirm. __"__Let go,__"__ Marth demanded. Ike complied unwillingly. _

_That did not make much sense, but it was the only way to describe how upset it made Ike. He could have killed his friend. Though Marth was-and-always-would-be a tough competitor, Ike never dared to harm a shining blue hair on his head until this required Brawl. If they had not fought, then neither of them would have won._

_Given, Ike won this battle, but only to come in second to Fox._

Master Hand finished going over the revised guidelines about battle as Marth finished reminiscing. When he looked down, he noticed Ike's hand was still holding his, and that he himself was still blushing. How painfully embarrassing was that? Ike's sexuality was unquestionable, but Marth's? Marth was more confused than a dog with a paper bag over its head.

He was so effeminate it was generally embarrassing. Most people learned to live with Marth's girly ways and the fact he enjoyed smelling like vanilla.

Master hand announced the first matchup. "The first trial Collision will be between Team Ike and Team Link. It will begin in five minutes. Will the four Smashers please make their way to the stage?"

Ike beamed. "Yes! Round one fight! This is gonna be great!" he cheered, grabbing Marth by the arm and dashing down to the stage. The other bluenette trailed behind, struggling to keep up with the over-excited speed demon.

Marth rolled his eyes. _Why did I do this to myself?_ He scolded himself for his mistake in his head. _Oh, right, because I__'__m supposed to be the overly-feminine gay boy in this story._

_Hey, wait a second!!_

Ike pulled on Marth's arm, trying to force him to walk up the north steps to the stage. On the other side, Link was coolly striding up the stairs like he owned them, a competitive look plastered to his face. Next to him was the agonizingly obvious partner he chose: Kirby.

For a pink puffball, even Ike had to admit that Kirby was pretty bad-ass. He could suck you in, spit you out, and then become you.

Perverted innuendo much?

Kirby, though very light weight and reasonably weak when he did not eat someone, was a good match for both Marth and Ike as one of the _heaven_ affinity, being the only other one next to Pit. Fighting Kirby when he did not come after you was like fighting a starving Doberman; you really never want to do it, but once it gets mad you run like hell.

Link's competitive glare softened into a warm smile when he saw Ike. The Hylian nodded as a respectful greeting. Ike smirked and gripped the hilt of his blade- Ragnell –with one hand. "Well met," Link said quietly but nicely. He never liked talking that much, but much like Ike had an effect on Marth, the same went for Link. They both could not keep their mouths shut around the rambunctious, childish hero.

"Hello, Link." Ike saluted his comrade with two fingers. His smirk went cocky. "Have you decided how this match is going to go yet, or do I get to choose for you?"

Link chuckled in a dark way. "Either way," he near-whispered, "one of us will one, one of us will lose, and the latter will have to deal with the former before bed." Link grasped the Master Sword's hilt. "It's only because it's just my luck that I get to room with you."

A countdown clock with thirty seconds on it began to tick down, giving the Smashers half a minute before the Collision. Calm washed over every other smasher in the stadium other than the four on the layer. The clock continued to tick down, second by second.

"You should be happy." Ike smiled evilly as he began to unsheathe Ragnell. "You could have been stuck with Falcon again," he pointed out.

"True," Link agreed, removing the Master Sword from its case completely. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "But we have Snake."

_ERNT!_

The loud buzzer went off, signaling for the match to begin. Ike charged at Link. Link charged back. Marth quickly grabbed the Falchion and attacked Kirby, every slash smooth and sleek, contrasting Ike's blows, which were all sharp and powerful.

Watching the two of them was like watching day and night; one's movements were swift, clean, and graceful, while the other made long and strong movements backed mostly by strength. One preferred speed over strength, using his light weight body to make unstoppable strikes. One preferred might over quickness, making all of his movements as forceful as possible. No matter how different they were, the two collaborated amazingly well together. They were a dream team.

Ike's sword clashed with Link's, but Link forced his opponent back. They ran at each other again, top speed, full force, eyes set to kill. Ike slashed, but Link leaped over the larger man astonishingly, landed on his feet. In one sharp movement, he pivoted and struck Ike in the back. Ike grunted in pain as he collapsed. The elf took the other hero's sword and planted one of his feet on the pained man.

While this went on, Marth KO'd Kirby, sending him into a wall with his Final Smash- a critical hit. When the pink puff fell to the ground, Marth proudly turned around to check on Ike. He only saw his teammate down.

_Ike_, Marth complained in his head. _What did you do?_

The prince readied his sword once more and dashed up to Link, who was teasing Ike triumphantly. Then, _BAM!_ Link was stabbed, grabbed, and thrown to the ground in a startling burst of strength. He stared up at the ceiling blankly, not sure what just happened.

Marth closed his eyes, sighed, and knelt beside is fallen friend. "Ike, get up." Ike was about to get the lecture of a lifetime on recklessness.

Ike sat up obediently and rubbed his head. His eyes were shining. He caught his breath, only to say, "That… Was… Awesome!" He screamed, jumping to his feet. The stadium was filled with laughter and cheering and clapping. Marth rose slowly, trying not to steal any attention from his self-absorbed friend. He left the stage.

Thinking about the playful mercenary, the prince realized he could not try to teach the puppy-like boy about why reckless is wrong; he was already housebroken. This was how Ike was. No one could change him. One of the reasons Marth admired him was because of how genuine he was. One of the reasons he gravitated toward the crazy Crimean was how opposite they were.

Opposites tend to attract.

With a smirk on his face, Marth continued to exit the stadium up the aisle, Ike chasing after him close behind.

"Marth," Ike said, getting said prince's attention. The Shadow Dragon slayer sidestepped, making room so his comrade could walk next to him. "That was great! You've been training!"

"So you noticed," mused Marth. "Roy has been helping me since his return."

So his name _was_ Roy.

Ike raised an eyebrow. This was the first day back, right? "How long have you been here?"

"Two weeks. Master Hand invited me to come back prior to the tournament along with Roy, Fox, Zelda, Pit, and Peach. We have been here testing the new rules and guidelines and such. It was his suggestion to us that _we_ divide people among the affinities since we know our competition better than he does," Marth explained.

If this had been a year ago, the answer to Ike's question would have ended at 'two weeks' and Ike would have been forced to repeatedly ask 'why?'. Then again, this was a brand-new Marth- one that was far more talkative than the old one.

Ike whined. "So _you_ put me with Snake? I thought we were friends, man!" He was still tormented by the fact he had to sleep in the same room as Solid Snake when they had not gotten along well the first time they were at the Smash Manor together.

Marth flushed. "Not… Not necessarily," Marth said defensively, scratching his head, exiting out the door into the lobby.

"_Not necessarily_ my ass! You knew that guy freaks me out!" Ike hissed, still following Marth. Mindlessly, he followed Ike to one of the gray couches circling the fireplace.

"Who freaks you out?" Snake asked as he walked by.

Ike rolled his eyes. _This _would_ happen to me. _"No one, Snake," Ike hissed, glaring at Marth who smiled sheepishly.

Snake blinked and continued walking by.

"You little…" Ike shook his head in disappointment.

Marth failed to see where he faulted. He had to come up with groups, he came up with groups. The _earth _affinity was actually one of the smallest groups. _Heaven_ was the smallest, as only Pit and Kirby were members of it, but _earth_ was the next with three. If Marth recalled correctly, the Pokemon had the largest amount of Smashers categorized under it. It was either that or the dark Smashers. Also, marth remembered, Samus was the only female in the fire affinity. She was stuck with Fox, Captain Falcon, Charizard, _and_ Roy.

Everyone knew Roy was a major pervert, even compared to Ike.

Marth put on his cutest puppy face and gazed at the taller man who would not un-ice his glare. "It wasn't my idea. I had nothing to do with earth. I worked with light, dark, and heaven.

Ike made the fatal mistake of looking into Marth's eyes. Upon seeing the innocence filling the other's face, Ike groaned. "Don't you dare give me that look. That isn't even fair. It's so not funny."

"What isn't funny?" Marth asked, clueless, tilting his head.

Ike was not into guys. That was for sure. He never had been. He never would be, but there was no denying that Marth was a cute guy. He was so small and fragile-looking that no one could resist wanting to put him in their suitcase and take him home with them. Even though a more-than-friends feeling would never happen, Ike could not help but wonder if anything was wrong with wanting to taste his friend's mouth.

Ike suddenly asked, "Do you want to be partners for the team tournament?"

It made Marth start blushing. To be partnered with Ike through a whole tournament for a second time? That would be wonderful, but… "I… I…" he struggled with his admittance. "I promised Roy last week that I would be his partner."


	4. Rejection Perfection

衝突  
Collision

Story by Ven Ceinza.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or any of their characters. (Which are awesome.)

In-story summary: Ike, the Hero of Tellius, has been cordially re-invited to the Smash Manor after his last tournament there. Pleased to be re-untied with his friends- Fox, Pit, and Link –Ike accepts the offer to return. During his previous stay, he met everyone there was to meet—or so he thought. This time, they are _all_ there. The Smashers that were only invited to the first Melee were asked to come back to show the newbies how this game was played _before_ the wussies took over.

_Yeah, yeah; I know this story somewhat **blows**, but it plainly has potential. Next chapter starts the battles. I'm trying to think of a few interesting teams that don't make a lot of sense. Geez, this is all written so cryptically. I'm going to have to lighten the mood a bit when it comes to the fights. Plus, this isn't a very _humorous_ story, but there is potential for that, too. OH. I have an idea. Ganondorf shall become a child molester. Oooh I feel so evil. Anyway, please R/R because I need to feel like I'm doing something right. _

* * *

拒絶完璧  
(Rejection Perfection)

_To be partnered with Ike through a whole tournament for a second time? That would be wonderful, but__…__"__I__…__ I__…"__ he struggled with his admittance. __"__I promised Roy last week that I would be his partner.__"_

Ike made an O with his mouth. "Oh," he muttered accordingly. "Well… That's good, I guess."

Marth knew it was probably a bad idea to reject an offer from Ike seeing as they really did make the perfect team, but honoring a prior commitment was important to Marth. If you promise something to someone, you should not go back on it.

Too bad he did not remember a promise that he made during the last tournament- a promise he made to Ike that even Ike did not know about. Marth hardly knew about it, but that was because it was made on a dead night when he stared out the window and looked up at the moon. This was the day that Marth came to terms with how he felt about Ike. He could never be fully happy being 'just-friends'. Oh no—there had to be something more. Despite all the fun he poked at Ike's sexuality, he knew that his friend was straight.

But if there were an opportunity to kiss his modest friend's lips, there would be no questions asked. The chance would be taken.

Seeing as that chance would never come, though, Marth sighed.

"Don't take it personally, Ike. Please? You know how much honoring a commitment means to me," Marth reminded him, shaking his shoulder. "Please?"

Ike nodded stiffly and ruffled his own hair. "Ha. Yeah, it's all good, Marth." The look of disenchantment that clung to his face made guilt pound through Marth.

"Thank you, Ike," Marth whispered mildly. He rose to his feet and walked away shamefully.

_Well,_ Ike thought. _This is an issue._

A laugh came from the closing stadium door. Two laughs, actually. Ike looked up to see Samus and Pit looking down at him. Pit noticed his friend's distraught face and sat down beside him. Pit rubbed Ike's back consolingly and had him lean his head on his shoulder. Ike did not protest. He leaned.

Samus frowned at the sight of her saddened boy, but was amused by the fact Pit was taking charge of it. Inwardly, she smirked. Outwardly, she pitied her Ragnell-wielding companion. Her companion, unbeknownst to her, was utterly defeated; he felt as though he had been kicked while he was down.

Now he knew how it felt to be kicked off your high horse. Ike almost regretted breaking down Marth earlier and on any other occasion he had. The feeling of rejection was _beyond_ awful.

"He promised Roy last week… Partners…" Ike clarified quickly and quietly. He wanted to say no more than that, but if Samus or Pit asked, he knew he would oblige.

This should not have bothered Ike. The fact Marth already had a partner was fate. So why is it the idea of not fighting alongside someone he was so close to-yet so far from-making him want to scream? It burned. It made him writhe. What was wrong with him? Why did Marth not want to be his partner? Was he not good enough? Not strong enough? Not good-looking enough for his effeminate friend? Ike had to admit that Roy was pretty, but what did looks ever have to do with fighting? Even if looks _did_ matter, Ike knew he and Marth looked wonderful fighting together.

And so Marth's simple oath-to-self became a weak point within Ike that continuously probed him with the question, "What is wrong with me?"

Not so shockingly at that same moment, Marth was sitting in his room-the room he shared with Sonic and Mario—the two other members of the _water_ affinity. How he got placed into water he did not understand, but that was not his group to assign.

Mario probably should have been in fire, but fire was already full. Either way, Marth was alone in his room, lying on his bed, staring at his ceiling. He sighed deeply.

Even though he made a promise to Roy, was it going to make this any easier? _This _was acting as an offer coming from someone who worked so beautifully with him. _This_ was someone that Marth admired with everything in his capacity, adored with every fiber of his being, and in some ways, loved.

Marth shuddered at the thought of loving Ike. That sounded so revolting. Maybe having a crush on the guy would not be that bad, but to love someone like _Ike_? Ike was his friend. He wanted nothing but to keep it that way.

Considering that he possibly ruined that with rejecting Ike's proposition, though, Marth found himself in quite the predicament.

_Ike will understand_, he tried to convince himself. He leered at the ceiling for what felt like hours telling him-self this, but it never got more acceptable. He knew Ike better than that; given, he did not know the man as well as the man knew him, but Ike was not as easily opened as he came across to be; it took a certain kind of person to get Ike to open up.

_Oh god, what have I done?_ Marth groaned and rubbed his forehead. _Why do I suck so bad?_

How would he be able to fight next to Roy, defend him, and want to win when his thoughts would all be about Ike—when he really wanted Ike to win instead of Roy? Or worse—what if himself and Ike had to fight against each other again?

Marth had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He rested his hand on his midriff and drummed his fingers. "What am I going to do?" he sighed, toying with the bottom of his tunic.

There was a knock on his room's door. Not wanting to get up—due to sheer depression-induced tire—he hollered, "Come in."

Fox-_fox?_-opened the door and was followed in by Falco, his suspiciously close companion. "Hey there, boy," Fox greeted, kicking the door shut behind his feathered friend. "How's life treating you?"

Marth sat up, propped himself up on one arm. "However Wolf treats you should sum it up. What are you two doing here?" he asked, recalling that he and Fox were never close. Neither were he and Falco. Between him and each of them, there were never many words spoken. Yet there was always that strangely comforting feeling of being around the two of them; like Marth really _was_ their friend as opposed to someone they were stuck in a mansion with.

Fox let a sneer creep onto his face at the Wolf comment. He turned his head coldly. Falco rolled his eyes. "Speak of the devil; we ran into him. Can you say _awk-ward_?"

Marth blinked. "How is that awkward?" he yawned.

"Well… Let's just say we literally _ran into_ Wolf," Falco told the prince, who blinked again. "We were racing down the hall. I tripped Fox. He went into a somersault and landed on top of Wolf in a very—how do I say this?—_sexual _way."

Fox flushed. "It's all his fault! He could have moved out of the way!" he fumed. "He saw me coming!"

Falco snorted and patted Fox's back. "That's what she said," he muttered.

"What was that, punk?!" Fox got in Falco's face and yelled at him. Falco glared. In one movement took his wing and smacked Fox across the face then forced him to the ground into a headlock. "Let me go!"

"Fat chance," Falco told him. The blue bird looked up at Marth. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to bid you bye because _someone_," he emphasized, "can't cool it for a few minutes."

"It's not my fault!" Fox whined loudly as Falco began to drag him away. The howling dog tried to wrench himself free, all to no avail. It was hopeless; Falco had him trapped. After five minutes of awkward protest in front of a less-than-interested Marth, Fox gave up. "I hate you," he muttered to Falco.

"Like hell you do," the bird snorted, finally getting the angered fox out of Marth's room.

The prince stared at the door dazedly long after the two best friends left; in the midst of all his thinking, he realized that they never explained why they came to visit in the first place...

Meanwhile, in the earth-wind hall—which is located on the other end of an excruciatingly long corridor—Ike was lying on his bed with Samus and Pit sitting on either side of him. The scene looked suspiciously like they had just done a three-way, but that really was not the case. They were all just sitting there, the Zero Suit sex symbol on one side of the worn-down mercenary, the angelic boy on the other side.

"I know this shouldn't be pissing me off," Ike broke the quiet that had washed over an hour ago. "I hate Roy right now, though." He began to rant about his feelings, which was kind of funny since Ike was not one to ramble about 'emotions'. "I mean, Marth _knows_ he fights best next to me. He has great potential. And he's way faster than me, too, so when I need him, he'll be there and I'll be taking out the unsuspecting guy behind him. I'm that person he usually came to when he wanted to talk. I was the person he came to when he didn't want to say a thing! What changed? I was gone a year. What changed? Do you know?" he asked to neither companion in particular. "I'm completely lost. I thought I was pretty damn good in a fight. I kick ass, man! What could I have done to disappoint him?"

"Why are you getting all bent out of shape about this, Ike?" Pit asked. He looked down at his miserable friend, who glared at the angel because of this comment. "He chose to fight with you in the preliminaries. That pissed Roy off. You'll fight next to him again, too. You don't have to worry."

"What do you mean?" Ike asked, raising an eyebrow hopefully.

"When Roy gets eliminated from the singles, he can no longer compete during the team battles. You just have to not get eliminated in either and knock Roy out of the competition," Pit explained, staring at a focal point on the other side of the room, which was the clock.

During this conversation, Samus started to wonder if Ike was gay; she already knew that because Pit was an angel- a creature of no judgment that knew no true gender boundary –he could go for either a man or a woman. (It would totally make sense of the stares her body received when it was in the Zero Suit.) She seriously doubted Ike liked men. Seriously as in, there was no chance in hell.

Perhaps this was more of a guy thing; a man's pride knows no limit. Are guys like girls? Do they have the tendencies to prefer partnering up with friends? Do they make strange bonds when the other sex is not around? Do they tell their secrets to each other?

Why do guys constantly torture themselves? Most of them do not even have to worry about appearances since they really do not care. Maybe Marth and Ike's relationship was like Samus and Pit's—even though they were unalike, they gravitated toward each other because of it.

Maybe this was none of her theories.

_Perhaps_ Ike had just found someone he can be close to.

Why would he want to let that go?

Samus sighed. If only she truly understood how he felt. _If I did,_ she told herself, _he would not think I am such a... bitch. _


	5. Check The Level

衝突  
Collision

Story by Ven Ceinza.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or any of their characters. (Which are awesome.)

In-story summary: Ike, the Hero of Tellius, has been cordially re-invited to the Smash Manor after his last tournament there. Pleased to be re-untied with his friends- Fox, Pit, and Link –Ike accepts the offer to return. During his previous stay, he met everyone there was to meet—or so he thought. This time, they are _all_ there. The Smashers that were only invited to the first Melee were asked to come back to show the newbies how this game was played _before_ the wussies took over.

_Ha! Chapter... Is this 5? Yeah, chapter 5. How kinky, right? Anyway. It's kind of weird. Kind of short. I need to work on this story and the new DeathNote one I randomly decided to write. I have this obsession with DeathNote that never went away. Okay, you're here to read the world's crappiest Super Smash Brothers story. You might as well go back to reading it. By the way... Check The Level is a song by The Dirty Heads. GO LISTEN TO IT. And be sure to tell me what you think about it. I love that song and this chapter is alright and hopefully okay to match the song somewhat..._

* * *

レベルを確認します。  
(Check the Level)

Pit stared at the two bulletin boards in front of him skeptically. Which should he look at first—singles tournament or doubles tournament? It was tempting to look at both, but he knew that was not possible. He blinked and scowled at the white wall between the two boards. This was a tough decision. He sighed deeply, plainly conflicted.

He held out both of his hands and closed his eyes. _Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!_ He opened his eyes to his hands. One made a V, the other was fisted. Pit looked up at the boards and compared them to his hands; his right hand was fisted, thus meaning he would check the singles tournament chart first. He sighed in lieu of his lifted burden, closing the short distance between himself and the board.

The bottom row of the large tournament set-up was the only one with any names in it at the moment, seeing as neither tournament had started quite yet. It was first divided into two divisions: Alpha and Omega. He was on the "Alpha" half—the left.

As were Ike and Samus, he noticed.

His first battle was against Ness. It was scheduled for tomorrow.

Pit glanced up at the clock on the adjacent wall. _10:27,_ it read. Judging by the blackness outside, it was surely night-time. Now that he thought about it, it _was_ pretty late and he did need _some_ sleep.

He stretched out his arms above his head and yawned as he made his way down the long hallway to the right of the bulletin boards. He walked with his arms crossed above his head, stretching his neck every now and then. While he made his way toward the light-heaven hall, Pit thought a lot about what he was going to do in case he had to fight either Ike or Samus; most likely he would start out devastated, then either take them out quickly or surrender beforehand.

Samus would never let him back down, though—she loved the thrill of the fights. She got her kicks out of kicking someone's ass. She _loved_ being violent. As much as she usually complained about all the stuff she had to go through, Pit knew she enjoyed every last drop of blood, sweat, and tears that came from her. If he fought her and lost, Pit would look like a pansy. If he fought her and won, he would look like a jerk.

Pit twisted his doorknob in his hand and yawned. He rubbed one eye. He peered down the long hallway one more time before pushing his door opened. _Maybe if I won,_ he thought, _she would not think I__'__m a wimp. _

He shook his head. _Nah_, he reminded himself, _she likes Ike._

The next day Pit awoke to the sun bright and shining, showcasing its radiance to the drowsy angel lying in bed. He rolled over and squinted at the small dog-sized bed against the wall; in it laid his roommate, Kirby—the amazing pink puff. His other roommate-and Fox's love interest Krystal-appeared to already be gone. Pit rolled back over and curled up into a ball. He was going to refuse to get up today.

Downstairs in the training room about half an hour later, Ike was standing on a raised platform that had a shield around it. He eyed the sandbag. He stared it down until he decided it looked intimidated then began slashing away at it, trying to kill it as much as possible. He grunted as he hit it within the ten preparation seconds. Then, in the last two seconds, he raised his Ragnell back and swung it hard, striking the sandbag smack-dab in the middle.

The sack soared so high that no one-not even Ike's well-hidden spectators in the seating around the training stage-could see where it went.

Ike threw his sword over his shoulder and stood casually, waiting to see when it was going to fall. He yawned as it flew past nine-hundred feet.

Ike's spectators were Fox, Link, Peach, Kirby and Snake.

The three that were not Snake had no idea why Snake was there. No one loved Snake—not even Snake loved Snake. Snake _loathed_ Snake. Snake _despised _Snake. Snake wanted to _obliterate _Snake.

Just kidding, but seriously, no one loved him.

So the sand-sack was flying and everyone in the training arena was watching.

Peach swooned. "He's _so_ strong," she said dreamily. She twirled strands of her blonde hair and fiddled with her crown. She bit her lower lip, quietly praying that Mario would not see her staring at another man. Was it really that difficult? Ike was _gorgeous. _

Kirby beamed and attempted to clap his little hands before realizing that his hands were too small and could not reach across his plump body. "Poyo!" he squealed before Fox covered the poof's mouth.

"Shaddup," he hissed. "He doesn't know we're here."

"Ike," Link whispered his name. "He is some kind of hero, is he not? I aspire to defeat him in the singles tournament."

"Link," Fox growled. He fumed. "Do you realize that you have been going on your little princess-driven excursions seven times longer than he has?! He should be looking up to you—not the other way around."

Snake's eyes could not decide whether to look at the fuming Fox, the swooning Peach, the confused Kirby, or the solemn Link. Instead he just looked down awkwardly, trying to make himself unnoticeable. Maybe he should have gotten out his box…

"Fox, I don't see why you are getting so worked up about this. Ike is a good kid. You have no reason to be complaining," Link told his feisty friend. He folded his arms and shrugged. "I don't understand where you are coming from here."

Fox scowled. "I guess I'll have to find someone who does," he said before slipping out of his seat and escaping the area.

Peach looked confusedly at Link as if to say she just missed that entirely. Link just shook his head. The two of them turned back towards the home-run training. The sandbag had finally fallen apparently and was skidding a final few hundred feet until it finally stopped moving. It stood back up.

**New Record: 2078 Feet. **

Peach gasped. Snake's eyebrows shot up; Ike was far more impressive than he remembered. The previous record set by anyone was Link, who had 1916 feet. Ike beat him by over a hundred!

Snake shiftily looked left and right. He ducked on to the ground unnoticed and crawled out of the vicinity, all from the comfort of a cardboard box.

Link gazed in the direction of the powerful hitter. "I think it would be interesting if he ended up facing the one who loves him," he said, "especially if it were in the finals. That would be quite the fight to watch."

Peach's lower lip trembled. "Someone loves Ike?" _That is not me?!_ She added this in her mind. "Who might this be?"

Link raised a dirty blonde brow in query. "You mean you do not already know? It's always been obvious." It had been obvious to _Zelda_, anyway; Link was not the best with people, but Zelda could read a mood a mile away. Link just snorted. He did not want to tell Peach, just in case a certain blue-haired effeminate had yet to come out.

Peach's eyes were wide with hope, practically begging to know, only to be shot down by Link's empty glare. _Ouch_, she thought. _He really knows how to shoot a nasty look. It__'__s too bad he__'__s gorgeous; otherwise I would be so miffed right now._

"I find it comforting to know that even Ike has someone who loves him," Peach said.

"_Even_ Ike?" Link scowled at the princess. "He is just as respectable as anyone else here."

Peach flicked her hand and waved it. "Pshaw! That is not what I meant. What I meant was that Ike has someone who loves him. We all deserve someone, do we not?"

Link's scowl eased up a bit. "I suppose you're right. Either way," he said, "fighting him again is going to be an experience."

Peach fumed. "All you men ever think about is fighting. All you ever do is eat, drink, sleep, and fight. What is wrong with you? Why can't you be more like women?"

"Because women are crazy," a voice that was not Link's answered her question.

Peach blinked, turned around, and looked up at the person who kindly gave her a response. She flushed. "Ah! Ike! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there! How are you?"

Ike nodded awkwardly. "I'm fine, thanks," he said equally uncomfortably. His gaze shifted to Link. His eyes suddenly had fire in them; they had the kind of fire that meant someone was going to lose. That someone was not going to be Ike. "I'm sure you're excited for the singles tournament," he said.

Link smirked and snorted. "Of course I am. I do not find my first match to be anything challenging though."

"Really; who did you get paired against?"

"The Ice Climbers," Link said with a shudder, like the thought of them disgusted him. "The fact they even call themselves Smashers disturbs me. And your first opponent is…?"

"Meta Knight," Ike admitted.

Link frowned. "At least you have some competition."

"Not until I face you," a certain blue-haired mercenary said with a smirk.

Link's smile returned. He chuckled. "Flattery _still_ will only get you so far, Ike. Watch how far you take it."

Inwardly, Ike yelled at himself. _God damn it, I thought I told you to never compliment anyone ever again you stupid faggot!_

_Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Stop whining._

"It'll be interesting to see where this takes us, won't it?" Link mused aloud.

"Yes," Ike agreed. "It'll be absolutely fascinating."


End file.
